The Hon. G.G. Ponnambalam

¶ 01 Hon. Deputy Speaker, on 28 March the Government issued a Gazette concerning lands in the Northern Province: 3,669 acres in Jaffna, 1,703 in Mullaitivu, 515 in Kilinochchi and 54 in Mannar—totalling 5,941 acres—stating that unless private owners in specified areas establish title within three months, they will be declared State lands.

¶ 02 As you know, a Tamil diaspora roughly equal to the population in the North and East fled the island due to threats to life during the war, leaving behind property. Many entered foreign countries irregularly and sought asylum. Past governments recognized that these owners could not easily return to establish title, and law (including limiting prescriptive claims) prevented illegal war-time occupants from acquiring title over diaspora-owned private lands.

¶ 03 This Government, while keeping the PTA in force, now gives only three months to establish title. That is unrealistic for diaspora owners who cannot return, and for many locals in the North and East who faced multiple displacements, abandoning their properties repeatedly during the war. Land is at the core of the Tamil national question. To proceed unilaterally by Gazette with such a short window is unjust and contrary to natural justice. I state responsibly that this is a planned attempt to deprive Tamils of land and use it for settlements.

¶ 04 During the war, access to coastal livelihoods was blocked; a sustained economic stranglehold impoverished the people and pushed many to emigrate. Today, military attitudes in the North and East still view Tamils as adversaries, and the Government either lacks the will or the backbone to change that. If you extend this approach from the North to the East, it will target all Tamil-speaking people. This Government calls prior Sinhala-led governments racist, yet is continuing an unjust project.

¶ 05 I warn: land is fundamental. If you do not withdraw this Gazette and instead proceed unilaterally without agreement with Tamil representatives, you will destroy prospects for reconciliation between Tamil-speaking people in the North and East and Sinhalese in the South. Withdraw it immediately.